Cristiano Ronaldo.
Lisbon: Cristiano Ronaldo's journey with Portugal has come to an end.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time, the 41-year-old forward announced Thursday he was done playing for the national team.
Here's a look at the defining milestones of Ronaldo's 23-year career with Portugal's national team.
Ronaldo's timeline with Portugal
Aug. 20, 2003: Made his Portugal debut as an 18-year-old in a 1-0 friendly win against Kazakhstan.
June 12, 2004: Scored his first international goal in a 2-1 loss against Greece in the opening match of the European Championship. The date also marked his first appearance at a major senior tournament.
June 17, 2006: Scored his first World Cup goal by converting a penalty kick in Portugal’s 2-0 win over Iran in the tournament in Germany.
Feb. 6, 2007: Made his debut as Portugal captain in a friendly against Brazil.
Oct. 16, 2012: Earned his 100th cap with Portugal in a 1-1 draw with Northern Ireland in a World Cup qualifier.
Sept. 6, 2013: Scored his first international hat trick in a 4-2 win over Northern Ireland in a World Cup qualifier.
March 5, 2014: Became Portugal’s all-time leading scorer with a pair of goals against Cameroon in a 5-1 victory in a friendly. That took him to 49 goals, two more than Pauleta at the time.
June 18, 2016: Became Portugal’s most-capped player with his 128th appearance in a match against Austria at Euro 2016, surpassing Luís Figo.
July 10, 2016: Won his first senior international title with the national team after a 1-0 extra-time win over France in the European Championship final. Ronaldo was replaced early in the game after getting injured.
June 15, 2018: Scored his first World Cup hat trick in a 3-3 draw with Spain in Portugal’s opening match in Russia.
June 9, 2019: Helped Portugal win the inaugural Nations League with a 1-0 win over the Netherlands in the final.
Sept. 8, 2020: Reached the mark of 100 international goals in a 2-0 win over Sweden in the Nations League. He also scored his 101st goal that day.
June 15, 2021: Became the outright leading scorer at Euros, passing Michel Platini’s nine goals with a brace against Hungary.
Sept. 1, 2021: Broke the men’s international scoring record, surpassing Ali Daei’s 109 goals with two late goals in a 2-1 win over Ireland.
Nov. 24, 2022: Became the first man to score at five World Cups by converting a penalty kick against Ghana in a 3-2 win.
March 23, 2023: Became the most-capped men’s international player with his 197th appearance against Liechtenstein, surpassing Kuwait’s Bader Al-Mutawa.
June 20, 2023: Became the first man to earn 200 international appearances in a 1-0 victory at Iceland. He scored the winning goal.
June 18, 2024: Became the first player to appear at six European Championships, starting in Portugal’s 2-1 win over the Czech Republic.
June 8, 2025: Helped Portugal win its second Nations League title by scoring in the 2-2 final against Spain. Portugal won 5-3 in a penalty shootout.
June 23, 2026: Became the first man to score at six World Cups after getting a brace against Uzbekistan in a 5-0 victory. On the same day he surpassed Eusébio as Portugal’s leading World Cup scorer, reaching 10 goals.
Sept. 30, 2026: Left the national team camp after a disagreement with coach Jorge Jesus.
Oct. 19, 2026: The Portuguese federation announced a 30-day suspension and a €255 fine for Ronaldo for leaving the national team camp.
Nov. 5, 2026: Announced his international retirement after a career that included 234 appearances and 146 goals, which are men’s world records.
Tags: